Okay… So I’m Stuck Now What?

Man did I ever get feedback on the story and subsequent lesson about my experience with Ken (remember the soon to be ex-cab driver) in Las Vegas!

Many people were inspired and I must have offended a couple but I got to thinking… What if someone is kind-of stuck? How can I share some of what Tommy and I do to help them… I sure hope you’re ready for the answer!

My good, long time friend, business partner and mentor Tommy Richardson is one of my go-to people on this topic. Tommy is an expert on the principles of sports psychology. I can say that although he never would because he is genuinely humble… and in a great way! I like hanging out with Tommy because I hope some of him will rub off on me!

Tommy and I teach a program called the Winners Mindset where we help teams with strategies to get past that “being stuck” thing.

Here is some of it in a nut shell… It starts with these two beliefs; Your mind is powerful and You DO have a choice in every situation. What you decide in those choices add up to your circumstances. There are basically four mindsets you need to be aware of:

1. The Monkey Mind… also known as the monkey on your back! It’s the little voice (the one that right now is probably saying “what little voice?”) that is always second guessing your beliefs, thoughts, and actions!

2. The Intimidated Mind… this is where you build up the thing(s) you’re facing as if they were bigger than life. There’s a great scene in the movie Hoosiers that illustrates perfectly what to do about the Intimidated Mind.

In the movie Gene Hackman, the coach of Hickory High School (the Cinderella story of all time based loosely on the 1954 Milan H.S. State Champs) takes his players to Butler (now Hinkle) Fieldhouse (where they used to play for the State Championship in Indiana High School Basketball). Whew… so the coach takes the team to the court in Hinkle Fieldhouse and he has them measure the distance from the Free Throw Line to the back of the back board… It’s the exact same distance, 15 feet, as in their tiny gymnasium back at Hickory High. Next he has one player get on another’s shoulders and has them measure from the floor to the rim… 10 feet… it too is the exact distance as back in their Hickory gym. Hackman points this out… It’s the same. He just defeated the intimidated mind in all his players. He didn’t want them to think that the measurements of the court in expanse of Hinkle Fieldhouse were any different from the basketball court they had been playing on and winning on the entire season.

3. The Determined Mindset… this is the mindset of high focus and concentration. You know, like when a child tries to stay within the lines when they’re coloring their favorite picture… tongue out, face squinted and all! Focus on the solution or the correction needed. Practice intentional thinking.

4. The Natural Mindset… also known as “in the zone” or “flow” when you just know you’re on your game! This is the goal! That when you play your game, be it sales, teaching, fulfilling customer needs of any kind… you want to be here in this mindset.

Here’s a simple four step process to get you from the first two, Monkey Mind and Intimidated Mind to the 3rd Determined and 4th the Natural Mind:

Step 1. Recognize your thinking! If you don’t like it, change it or change the way you think about it.

Step 2. Refocus your thinking.Use a physical cue (also called an anchor) if needed so you can choose to think about it differently.

Step 3. Cancel the negative thought and replace it with a positive more resourceful thought.

Step 4. Create new Routines or Habits that take you closer to your goal! Use supporting behaviors!